Jesus Hernandez

Can I get to run the hammer next year if I smelt a big bloom of steel?

Steam pressure washer?

Thank you guys. I did type a location in my profile. I currently live in Huntsville, AL and I have done demos and participated in hammer-ins along the East coast.

My name is Jesus Hernandez. I was born in Zamora, Spain in 1966 and grew up in Salamanca. I moved to the United States in 1992 after meeting the most wonderful woman in the world who happened to be an American. I am a bladesmith. I am driven by the sense of satisfaction that I obtain from the use of my hands in the creation of a beautiful blade. I primarily look at bladesmithing as an artistic expression and I enjoy meeting and relating to like-minded individuals. I make my own steel in a "tatara" style smelter for some of my blades. I can be reached through my website: JHBLADESMITH.COM These are some images of my work.

Hi Larry. I'll make a post on the intro section. I'll be glad to contribute to the forum with anything I know. I have not heard from Nathan...

Sam gave you the basics, which is what you asked for and Newman made a very appropriate correction. The fact is that there is no shortcut for proper heat treating if you want to do it right. I make swords. Japanese swords sometimes made out of home-made steel smelted in my back yard so what I do, does not apply to a spring but it does require some knowledge of what happens to the crystalline structure of steel as is being heated and cooled. There are many variables that can make things go wrong. You need to know the steel type that you are working with. 1095 is not 1050 or 1018. Alloys in the steel will change the game completely. Each type of steel requires a different thermal cycling to obtain the right properties out of it so that it will perform well in the job is intended for. You need to accurately gauge the temperature and know what is the crystalline structure of the steel before quenching. You need to have the right quenchant. Not all oils are the same and sometimes oil is not enough to extract heat fast enough of some types of steel. Finally, the proper temper at the correct temperature sustained for the correct time will determine the final properties of that piece of steel. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there is no substitute for a good book here and very few are short books. And after you read, you need to practice and test the metal to make sure everything works as it should. You wouldn’t want anything short of the best out of what you do. BTW, I enjoy looking at the pictures that you have posted. You have a good eye.